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Captain's Log: Hailing frequencies were, are, and will be open
Captain's Log, Stardate 65018.1... Hello, computer (and players)! While we have all been out and about gallivanting across the galaxy, the development team for Star Trek Online has been busy working on getting Season Four: Crossfire from Tribble test server to the Holodeck live sever, and it looks like the mission was a success as it was finally patched into the game this morning. In between all the bug-squashing, feedback-gathering, and sleepless nights, Executive Producer Dan Stahl found time to sit down and answer some of his players' burning questions about the future of STO. Toward the end of every month, a Cryptic Community Manager creates a new thread in the forums where players can submit questions. While it seems that the policy is "no question is too out there," only a select few are chosen and personally responded to. Whether you are interested in the future of Klingons, wondering when Starfleet Academy will make its debut, or curious to learn if the Romulans will become a playable faction, this month's Ask Cryptic is sure to leave you wanting more. While Dan seems to jump from topic to topic, I thought it would be handy if I put it all together for you in this week's Captain's Log entry. Ensign, warp 11! Yeah, that's right! This is for all the readers who thought we couldn't even go warp 10...
Power play: Warhammer Online's 1.4.2 patch improves Tier 4 [Updated]
It's been a quiet month or so following Warhammer Online's 1.4.1 patch, so it's a relief to see Mythic swinging back into action with the sequel: patch 1.4.2. The servers are coming down this morning and should be back up and ready for action by 1:00 p.m. EDT. According to the patch highlights, patch 1.4.2's main focus will be on improving WAR's Tier 4 RvR combat. Power levels and power gaps are due for a tune up, and Mythic claims to have taken in a lot of feedback about the end game in order to make these changes. As it's done in the past, Mythic is changing the scenario lineup for this new update, temporarily retiring some of these PvP instances while bringing others back online. The patch will also introduce a couple additional vanity pets, including the powder monkey and imp skeleton, which can be purchased via the EA Store. Some of these pets give you 5% additional gold when you loot corpses, making them very desirable indeed. [Update: Mythic has posted the full 1.4.1 patch notes for your perusal!]
Aion double AP event looks to temporarily revitalize endgame
Spend any time at Aion's endgame and you'll quickly realize that everything revolves around Abyss Points (AP). Hitting 55 is really the tip of the iceberg when it comes to PvE progression and the ability to be competitive in PvP, as you'll need plenty of pricey gear and stigmas to stand a chance. AP is so important, in fact, that even PvE mobs in the Abyss and Inggison dole it out. Unfortunately for Daevas everywhere, the AP gods are undeniably stingy. Acquiring a full set of 55 armor, jewelry, and the weapon of your choice literally takes months (or even years) depending on how much AP you manage to farm on a daily basis. NCsoft is temporarily addressing this problem with a new in-game event dubbed For War and Glory. The event's double AP bonuses (and halved AP losses) kick off today and will run through the server reset on March 30th. NCsoft is also tweaking the game's rifting mechanic yet again, and defensive buffs in Heiron and Beluslan will be removed until March 23rd (buffs in Eltnen and Morheim remain). Both events are part of the larger Spring 2011 Reactivation Celebration, which runs from March 24th to March 31st and welcomes back Daevas to "train for the greatest battle this planet has seen yet." Check out all the details on the official Aion website.
Wasteland Diaries: The battle of Haietta
There are new PvP objectives in Fallen Earth. Well, the objectives are the same, but the means of achieving those objectives are now different. Conflict towns remain largely unchanged, but the taking and holding of one is now dramatically different because of a few subtle changes. No longer are the non-timed towns captured by doing repeatable missions. Timed conflict towns haven't changed at all. But the other towns had a silly mechanic: having the PvPers do PvE missions to control a town. The attackers and defenders would roam about doing missions and possibly run into one another and fight. More often than not, there was little fighting. The new system concentrates the action on a certain point -- actually, three points. The Faction Control Points (FCPs) are placed near or in the town. They are now the key to controlling the town. Of course you can still do it the old-fashioned way, but it's much quicker to control all three points at once. Controlling all three points will give the controlling faction a steady stream of faction points toward its cause. Each tower held contributes 2500 points to the controlling faction about every five minutes.If you've ever done the missions in a conflict town, you know this is a much faster method. PvP is rampant in Fallen Earth right now. Well, in Haietta, it is. After the cut, I'll give a first-hand account of what I've seen on the front lines.
The Soapbox: You have an hour to grab my attention
Disclaimer: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week's writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column. We're at an interesting time in the progression of the MMO genre. Development studios and publishers are beginning to realize that there's much more to the "MMO" buzzword than meets the eye. You can't simply tack "Online" to the end of a successful single-player IP and get a multi-million-player hit. A few years ago, this wasn't the case. Even as late as 2009, this formula was still thought to work. MMO gamers were still excited by the runaway success of World of Warcraft, with fresh memories of the "good ole" EverQuest and Ultima Online days fueling their optimism. When you have some of the best times of your gaming life in something as unique as those early MMOs, you hold on to that, wishing for an improved version to come along any day now. But with recent game closings, developer layoffs, and a general burn-out on the same features in mostly every game, that optimism is decaying. We can only take so many faction grinds and escort quests before we just start throwing our hands up and turning to other hobbies.
Cryptic answers the 29 most pressing STO questions
Star Trek Online's monthly Ask Cryptic features are always something for fans to look forward to reading, but this month even more so as executive producer Dan Stahl goes well beyond the normal handful of queries to accumulate 29 questions and answers to some of the hottest topics among the community. Included in this Q&A session is a sneak peek at the work-in-progress Tholian race (above left), the revelation that Season 4 will primarily focus on retooling repeatable end game content, fleet starbases, passive bridge officer abilities, Season 3 item sets, Memory Alpha improvements, sector space expansion and much, much more. Stahl even explains why he picks the questions he does to answer -- basically, he likes to get into topics that aren't repeatedly touched upon in interviews. Those hoping for a full-fledged STO expansion shouldn't start holding their breath, however: "It is unclear if we will ever produce a paid expansion as the market is leaning away from expansions and more towards smaller microtransactions. However, if we ever did release a paid expansion, it would be a significant update and add some new functionality to the game that would be deemed worth the price of the release."
Hyperspace Beacon: Proper PAX preparation prevents poor PAX performance
Welcome once again to your guide through everything Star Wars: The Old Republic, which is soon to be released by EA-BioWare. Larry Everett presents the Hyperspace Beacon. Deborah Shin, the Marketing Manager for Star Wars: The Old Republic told TOROcast at E3 that PAX was going to be the game's biggest event of the year. When I heard that announcement about a month and a half ago, I decided that I would have to make it to this event. Prior to that I was willing to let others do the reporting while I snagged some stories at home. I want Massively to be your source of SWTOR news, so how could I not go to the biggest SWTOR bash of the year? This week's agenda is quite simple in scope, but a bit more complicated in execution. I hope to give you a very brief overview of what we know of our favorite game going into PAX, followed by a few directions I could go with information gathering. Ultimately, I want the fan's opinion. What information do you want to see come out of this fan-tastic exposition? Follow me after the jump, where I break down the possibilities.
Wasteland Diaries: The end
When I first heard about Fallen Earth, the first thing that piqued my interest was the post-apocalyptic setting. The second thing was the FPS-style gameplay and the third thing was the factional PvP. I was delivered the setting in spades; I got a good, healthy dose of FPS action. I will admit, I got a good deal of PvP as well, but not much of it was factionally driven. The understanding I had of what to expect when I hit max level was enforcers and CHOTA squaring off for control of a town, slugging it out for hours on end. But in reality I got sporadic random battles or clan warfare. PvP was supposed to be the endgame material. At least that was the impression that I got. In this post I will look at the current state of Fallen Earth's endgame, and what we might expect to change from the information garnered from the recent State of the Game. Many people aren't sure what to do in the game once they hit the level cap. After the cut I will take a look at the state of Fallen Earth's endgame and where I expect it to go given the recent announcements.
EVE Evolved: The game doesn't really start until...
While reading the latest Anti-Aliased, Seraphina Brennan's weekly opinion column here at Massively, I couldn't help but apply what she was talking about to EVE Online. Sera's opinion piece was centred on the idea that games should be fun right from the start. If there's a period of boredom or grind before you get to the fun parts of a game, the developers are doing something wrong. While this is most often attributed to theme-park MMOs, with their rush to endgame before the game really opens up, I can't help but think EVE falls into the same trap. Despite its open-world sandbox nature with no forced progression or crafted endgame, I catch myself saying "EVE doesn't really start until ..." all the time. Most often I'm talking about how EVE's core gameplay really begins with PvP, and how motivationally essential it is to join a good player-run corporation. I've always found EVE's social structures and PvP to be its two most powerful components. Over the years, I've watched players who get involved in them stick with the game for years, while others who don't quickly become bored. I find myself wondering whether anything can be done to bring those parts of the game to new players right from the start. In this opinion piece, I look at the idea that EVE doesn't really kick off for players until they get into PvP or join a good corporation. I go on to suggest a few changes to the new-player experience that might help bring these elusive endgames to new players.
Tom Chilton retrospective interview on Wrath of the Lich King
There's an excellent interview with Tom Chilton, the World of Warcraft lead game designer, up on GameInformer. Lots of stuff we've heard before, but there are some interesting talking points. For example: They are looking into extending the dungeon finder to 10-man content. Chilton hinted that we may see a new boss in the Ruby Sanctum before Cataclysm launches They have a "general philosophical approach of getting the hybrids to where they're close to the DPS classes when it comes to DPS roles. Otherwise, those specs just turn into joke specs." They feel warlocks could use a boost to their DPS. Tol Barad, the Cataclysm equivalent to Wintergrasp, will be more of a Isle of Quel'Danas style daily quest hub instead of a farming zone. Before settling on death knights for Wrath of the Lich King's hero class, they specifically debated necromancers and rune-masters. They feel that with all the accessibility work they did on end game PvE in Wrath, end game PvP has become harder to get into by comparison. It's a three page interview, so click through to read the whole thing! What really struck me reading this was that comment about hybrid DPS compared to pure. This "hybrid tax" concept has been harped on by posters on the official forums for a long time now, and this is a fairly straightforward way of putting it.
Gold Capped: Making ridiculous sums of money on the auction house
Want to get Gold Capped? This column will show you how, and is written by Basil "Euripides" Berntsen, also of outdps.com, the hunting party podcast, and the call to auction podcast. Hi folks! Welcome to Gold Capped. There are many games to play in World of Warcraft: PvE, PvP, achievements, and today I'm going to introduce you to the one that people overlook-- gold making. Not just making enough to cover your expenses, but making unimaginably large quantities of gold. Making it easily, and enjoying the process. Before I jump in, I want to introduce myself and learn a little about you guys. I have a gut feeling that the majority of players are living "paycheck to paycheck" and treat the auction house as an expensive vending machine where they can spend their hard earned dailies money. Am I right? Please select one of the options on my embedded poll!
Behind the Curtain: On the edge
So, I finally hit level 80 with my Warrior. What should I be doing now? Hitting up Icecrown, working on getting those last few pieces of gear to hit the defence cap, then working on reputation, clear some Heroic runs for more gear. And maybe have some fun, chaotic Naxxramas runs with my guild where we lay bets on who can die in the most spectacular fashion. If, that is, I can get my dates right and sign up for the correct evenings. What am I doing instead? Farming Stratholme for the near-mythical undead mount of one Baron Rivendare.
Players the source of Warhammer's problems?
Hardcore Casual recently put out a very concise view of what is currently holding back a truly enjoyable game experience from Warhammer Online -- the players.The post truly sums up what makes many of the features of Warhammer Online break -- the fact that players aren't playing the game in the way Mythic expected. Instead of enjoying the content and dabbling into all the intricate facets of the game, players are engaged in a grindtastic rush towards the endgame content with the misshapen belief that "the game truly begins at maximum level." As the post itself says, people aren't comfortable with a game that starts at level 1 and not the cap.
Read up on Age of Conan's culture armors
Culture Armor, just what is it exactly? Better yet: How is it going to work? Well, Funcom has some answers to your questions. First of all, culture armor (and weapons) are designed to be end-game crafting creations, thus giving more weight to the crafting aspect within Age of Conan. Eleven cultures are being represented in the armor sets and yes, certain classes won't be able to wear culture armors that don't fit their origins. For instance, Priests of Mitra probably aren't going to be running around in Kushite gear. As it stands now, players can expect one version of each armor from the culture. So plate, chain, cloth, etc are all going to be in representation here. Atlantean armors won't be included with this first set and it sounds like the reason is that Funcom has much bigger plans for them. We wouldn't be surprised to see them as a part of some kind of major game update.Our impressions are that these culture pieces will be a great boon to the visual flavor in the game as well as make crafting much more worthwhile. They'll of course serve a utility role as well, but the inclusion of more variety is something any MMO should be looking to add.
X-Play delves into Wrath of the Lich King
X-Play took a look at the upcoming Wrath of the Lich King expansion for World of Warcraft and while no new ground was covered on the information front, they did get a look at one of the final battles in the Death Knight starting quest line. Of course, if you're trying to avoid any sort of spoilers concerning the Death Knight or generally anything WotLK-related, you may not want to risk taking a look at the segment.Worry not though, because as we said there ain't much meat on them bones. One thing the segment does point out is that this expansion is yet again aimed solely on high-level content. The subject isn't new by any means, but it did serve to remind us that old-world content could really use some love from Blizzard once in a while. You can find the video after the break.
Behind the Curtain:Slow it down
So – Altdorf is burning. That didn't take long, did it? Fifteen days to hit the end-game of one of the most hotly-anticipated MMOs in recent memory? I know I shouldn't lol, but I did, and heartily. The more I thought about it though, the more I worried that it's simply symptomatic of the way we approach and play MMOs just now. Is this what we've come to? I started World of Warcraft a little late in its lifetime, but I'm pretty sure that the end-game target/ideal/objective hadn't been reached and breached two weeks after the first players logged on. Such does not seem to be the case with Warhammer Online. There's more than one reason behind the speed with which this happened. From what I'm seeing, it's partly due to the Destruction players in question making use of (exploiting?) a bug wherein they gained access to the central part of Altdorf via the 'back door'. Said door is supposed to only be accessible by Order players. Not only that, but the raid took place late at night, when most players are logged off, taking full advantage of the fact that Destruction players seem to outnumber Order players as a rule. Apparently, it was little more than a gank-fest as the Destruction players rolled over what little PC defence there was.
Reputation roundup for new players & new level 70s
Some of the best rewards in WoW can only be achieved if you have the appropriate level of reputation with a specific faction. Whether you're a brand new WoW player or a freshly-minted level 70 dipping your first toe into the endgame, you need to educate yourself about reputation (or "rep" as it's usually called). Fortunately, here at WoW Insider, we have a lot of tools that can help you find your way through the rep maze to the piece of loot you desire.For new playersWoW Rookie: Introduction to ReputationNew players should start with this article to learn what all the terminology means and how rep affects your gameplay. WoW Rookie: Azeroth ReputationsThis article is the next step in understanding rep and how it works for the world of Azeroth. Since you should start worrying about rep long before you hit level 40, this article shows you how to start preparing for getting your first mount -- especially if the one you hunger for is not your toon's racial mount. Breakfast Topic: Reputation grindingHere you can see what your fellow players have to say about what it's like to grind rep after level 60.For new level 70sAsk WoW Insider: Do you optimize your rep grinds?Advice from us and other readers on how to streamline your rep grinds in Outland.Faction frustrations eased in WrathA preview of how rep may change in the Wrath of the Lich King expansion.Rep calculatorsHere are a couple of rep calculators we've reviewed. Liquidor's rep calculator WoW Reputation Calculator For extra credit WoW Rookie: Pre-Burning Crusade engame reputationsThis is a good primer on how rep worked prior to the release of The Burning Crusade expansion. Rep grinding in Azeroth after level 60 is not overly relevant now, but you may still be curious as to how it worked.
How many end games have there been?
Today on the WoW Insider Show Mike Schramm, Turpster, Daniel Whitcomb, and BigBearButt were talking about the number of times the game has been beaten. This got me thinking, what exactly is that number? Off the top of his head Mike said 5 or 6 times, and I think that sounds about right. Let's take a closer look though at how many times the game has been beaten, and who's claimed the top spot.Molten Core – The first end game instance. For a while this was truly the end game. The first guild that beat Ragnaros was Ascent on the Medivh server.Blackwing Lair – Added in patch 1.6, it existed for a short time as the pinnacle of end game raiding. Drama of the Shattered Hand server was the first guild to kill Nefarian, the end boss of BWL.Temple of Ahn'Qiraj – Added in patch 1.9, and was opened up after the server completed the opening of the gates of Ahn'Qiraj. C'Thun is the end boss of AQ 40, and was first killed by Nihilum.
Breakfast Topic: Do you pay attention to 25-man progression?
I was having a discussion with my brother yesterday, and he was telling me that he really doesn't pay attention much to the raid game anymore. Back in Everquest, he used to be a pretty hardcore raider, part of a giant guild that could field raids of 100 or more people, ready to track down and kill bosses the minute they spawned (since they were never instanced, you only got kill each boss around once per a week on each server). Because so many people were needed, and you might not even get to kill some bosses some weeks because other groups would beat you, you might go months without loot. Because of this, he says, he doesn't really care any more about server firsts or world firsts. The 25 man raids don't really interest him, and he doesn't feel like 25-man raiders are worthy of respect. They get loot at a much faster rate than he ever did, and even if they don't get the drop they want, they still get badges. There's probably other people like him. There's also other people who may ignore 25-mans because it really doesn't affect them. They run their 5 mans, maybe an occasional Karazhan, and they really don't care what people do beyond that.
YTMND: Endgame WoW Raiding Summed Up
My internet browsings brought me upon this YTMND page, and I thought it was funny enough to share with you all.Endgame raiding, for those of you who don't know, can get a little predictable at times. Each class has their pre-defined roles, and each has their own unique style to them. Each raider usually carries with him or her (possibly ill) conceived notions of what players of each class are like.For instance in my guild we usually poke fun at our Mages as being "emo mages," since they like to die a lot. Another one has lately been that I AFK tank, since when I get above 50k threat on the top DPS, there's very little chance they'll catch up to me (and on that note, they joke is on them, because as the main tank I often times do go AFK during phase two of Illidan.)Take a look at this moderately funny YTMND take on WoW Endgame raiding. And have your volume up a little, because as my girlfriend explained, "That's Little Spanish Flea! You know, Homer sings that all the time."
